The Altadena town council told the county to go ahead and pursue an exclusive trash collection contract, ending the semi-exclusive arrangement now in operation.
What this means is, starting next fall, a single trash collection provider will service most Altadena homes, ending the semi-exclusive arrangement between Allied and Athens that now exists. According to the county, whoever wins the contract will be expected to provide services such as e-waste collection, periodic bulk trash collection, and discounts for seniors and the disabled.
Most residents will have their existing trash cans replaced by five 96-gallon rolling containers — one for trash, two for green waste, and two for recycling. More containers will incur an extra $5 per month charge. The containers can be automatically picked up and emptied by newer model trash trucks. Smaller containers will also be offered for smaller households.
Grace Andrus, mayor of the Crescenta Valley town council, told the Altadena council that her community had been operating on an exclusive contract for three years with Allied Waste. Previously, she said, the town council and the county had no control over the multiple trash carriers, and received lots of complaints. Now, the council — and the county — can hold a provider accountable, and as a result, complaints have dropped, she said.
Individual homes can opt out of the contract, but only if they can prove that they are hauling out trash themselves or are recycling 100 percent of their refuse. Households that use dumpsters can continue to contract with whoever they wish.
Councilmembers said that they received numerous comments from their constituents about the trash service, most agreeing with an exclusive franchise.
One bone of contention was the recommended rate for scooter service — a "scooter" being a smaller truck that collects trash in neighborhoods with winding, narrow roads, such as Chaney Trail. Households that used a scooter service would pay 50% more per month than the standard rate, which caused concern to some council members.
Virginia Maloles of the Los Angeles County Public Works Dept. said that it would probably take four months to solicit and review bids, and another six months to start the franchise.
The Altadena franchise area as drawn up by the county also includes Kinneloa Mesa, a private community of 38 homes southeast of Altadena.
Kit said…
Yikes. I would throw myself into mourning if L.A. County married itself to Allied Waste. They are the most inept company. We had such trouble with them; they would not pick up our trash regularly, despite repeated calls; they continued to charge us for service months after we switched to Athens; and they never came to pick up the company-issued receptacle after repeated requests. It’s an incredibly disorganized company. (My accountant husband spoke to a outside-hired consultant in their accounting dept, and this man acknowledged the place was a mess.) For our unincorporated area of L.A. County to make a contract with Allied would be a horrible mistake.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 08:08 AM
L.M. said…
I am a resident of Altadena. I am very skeptical to what transpired in yesterday’s meeting town council meeting regarding the Trash Service. I think it would be great to only have one trash service company for several reasons such as reducing pollution, wear and tear on the streets of Altadena, increasing recycling, and reducing trash. However, I feel that we, the community, are being left out of the loop concerning many of the details in the contract. I have spoken to many people from the community and we have several concerns listed below. We look forward to these concerns being addressed.
• From the presentation Virginia Maloles gave, she presented a slide with dollar figures for the prices of the containers. Does this mean that she already meet with a company that has entered a bid and this is what they charge or is this what they are expecting the consumer to be charged?
• Can the power point presentation Virginia Maloles presented, be placed online for some of the members of the community that did not attend the meeting?
• If we have concerns about the hauler selected, which council member would we direct our concerns to?
• Will the new trash hauler attend the monthly council meetings? This is very important because moving to a single trash system is new for us in Altadena and we can have someone we can go to for voicing our concerns.
• If the CPI and fuel costs go down, Virginia Maloles stated that the trash fees will also go down. How would Public Works go about in decreasing the fees? It does not seem like it would be to the trash hauler’s advantage to lower fees when the CPI and fuel prices go down, they essentially would have a higher profit margin. Who specifically will initiate the fees to decrease? Is this specific detail in the contract?
• I understand that the contract will be for 7 years. Because we are moving to a single hauler system, why can we just try a specific hauler for one year and change them if we encounter many complaints and have many concerns? If it is successful, then we can renew the contract.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 09:20 AM
Lisa said…
Well, I don’t need or want trash service. I live alone, grow my own vegetables, buy grains and cereals in bulk; I don’t use plastic bags, or throw-away containers; I return junk mail to the post office; and I recycle most everything in my yard and compost pile. Whatever is left over goes to the recycler–bottles, cans, etc. According to the posted information, I have to provide proof that this is what I do. Okay, how do I do that? Take pictures or videotape my compost pile and the leaf mulches? Present receipts from the recycler for the bottles and cans? To whom do I present this “proof”? Anyone with info please respond, because I do not trust this contract at all. I have a sneaking suspicion that we all will be required to enrich the lucky trash hauler that is awarded the contract. Thanks.
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 09:15 AM